3 Rules to Get Over a Breakup

The old method of getting over a guy involved nothing more complicated than a tub of ice cream. These days, your tactics have to be tech-savvy.
Splitting up sucks. You got dumped, you cut him loose…sometimes it doesn't even matter. Fact is, there's pain and sadness and anger, and that's never going to change. (Sorry.) And these days, getting over a split may be tougher than ever.
Facebook and Twitter make it incredibly difficult to move on because you're bombarded with reminders of the guy on a daily, even hourly basis. Plus, texting means keeping up contact is easy and impersonal, causing a lot of confusion and mixed emotions. Unless you take specific actions to address these issues, you're in for a rough time.

RULE 1: Block Him on Facebook Pronto

Seeing a tagged photo of your former guy with his arm around some chick is pretty much the last thing you need to add to your freaked-out state of mind during this mourning time. Even if there's nothing as blatantly agony inducing as that, little news-feed updates or minor profile tweaks serve as constant reminders of him that will start to eat away at you.

RULE 2: Watch What You Post Online

Once you're kind of done with crying, you usually enter that pissed-off phase. You are angry that it didn't work out and want to show him you can do better or, at least, you've moved on. And technology like Facebook and G-chat facilitates doing that. But don't go there. Putting a G-chat message that says something like "Can't wait for my date tonight!" or tagging a picture of yourself hugging some random cutie at a bar can actually backfire and keep you from truly going forward. "It's easy to fool yourself into thinking that you're getting over him because you're seeing other guys and publicizing how busy and fun your life is now. But if you're posting your every move with the hope that your ex or one of his buddies sees it, you're really just keeping yourself wrapped up in your old relationship."

RULE 3: Whatever You Do, Don't Text Him

Eventually, you'll get to the post-split emotion of missing him, which usually happens when you've been broken up for a while. You may start to forget why you went your separate ways or think the reasons you did so no longer seem like a big deal. And those feelings can cause you to make a major mistake.
While it's simple physically to send the text, the emotional ramifications are hard to deal with. "Not only are you breaking down, but he may feel obligated to respond, even if he's not ready, and you'll be upset if his text back isn't enthusiastic. Plus, you'll have the words archived, so you can reread and obsess over it.
And if he texts you, it can be just as tough to deal with. You don't want to ignore him, but you also don't want to open the door to more communication. "Obviously, what he texts will determine what you are going to shoot back, but the key is to be friendly without inviting more," says Vranich. Write something like "Nice to hear from you. Really busy right now, so I will have to catch you later." That way, you're nicely letting him know you don't have time for him right now. And then you can focus on moving on.